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“One-of-a-kind
gift ideas” you can create on your Mac
Offering readers a gift suggestion “I’m certain your loved
one isn’t going to receive from somebody else,” Bob LeVitus
(Houston Chronicle) suggests “creating a book or calendar”
from the images in your iPhoto library. And, LeVitus points out, “it
couldn’t be easier to create one in iPhoto: Just select the photos,
drag them where you want them on the pages and then add some text. When
you’re done, you order it with a click of a button.”
Thinking about placing
an order? You have just a few days left if you want your parties to receive
their gifts by December 25. [Dec 11, 2007]
Customers
download 100,000 copies of Bento in just 30 days
Created expressly for Mac OS X Leopard, Bento, the personal database from
FileMaker, has caught fire. As FileMaker announced this morning, customers
eager to experience the easy-to-use applications have downloaded more
than 100,000 copies of the preview release in just 30 days. What’s
more, Bento has received excellent reviews. A reviewer at Networkworld.com,
for example, said of Bento, “I, for one, never thought I’d
see a database able to achieve that level of simplicity. Yet another reason
to consider a Mac?” [Dec 11, 2007]
Lecture notes
travel well on iPod
“Laura Martho, a student at El Centro College in Dallas,”
writes Anne Eisenberg (New York Times) “has four children [and]
commutes 45 minutes each way four days a week to a hospital for clinical
work in echocardiology. During the commute, she plugs an iPod into her
car radio to review lectures, and checks visuals during lunch.“
And Martho’s hardly alone in her studious use of iPod. Indeed, she
joins an increasing number of students who take advantage of the “lecture-capture”
systems more and universities have installed to bring the art of lecture
notes into the 21st century. [Dec 10, 2007]
ChangeWave
calls Mac the “dominant PC Story of 2008”
Looking at the data collected in their latest PC buying survey, ChangeWave
paints a picture of “extraordinary momentum” for the Mac.
“Not only do new Mac buyers report sky high satisfaction with their
desktops and laptops, but planned Apple purchases for the next 90 days
also look exceptionally robust,” report Jim Woods and Paul Carton
(changewave.com). In fact, 24% of survey respondents say that Leopard
“has made them more likely to buy a Mac in the future.” [Dec
10, 2007]
The tale of
the traveling music teacher
Inspiring students to practice regularly may not be an easy assignment
for any music teacher, but Sarah Grenier found iPod, her MacBook, and
iLife to be excellent motivators. Grenier records student performances
on a digital camcorder, edits the footage in iMovie, then burns the finished
video using iDVD so that students can enjoy—and critique—their
own performances and share their progress with parents, staff, and other
students. Like to hear how she uses iPod in the classroom? [Dec 10, 2007]
“Apple
Stores are rockin’” says TechIQ
The “Var Guy” at TechIQ Magazine offers “five reasons
why Apple’s retail strategy is crushing the competition this holiday
season:” Simplicity, Quality, Integration, Expertise, and Design.
As an example, the Var Guy contrasts buying a Windows smartphone with
buying an iPhone: “buy the iPhone (five minute process), link it
to your Mac (five minute process), and activate the iPhone online (five
minute process), and you’ll be wondering why Apple’s approach
isn’t the norm for the entire cell phone industry.” [Dec 10,
2007]
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